EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Small-scale farmers and other rural people are the backbone of the global food system. From farm to table, smallscale farmers, vendors, processors, marketers, and others feed their communities and countries, contribute to local and international economies, and preserve the local environment. According to a 2018 study, small farms produce one-third of the world s food.1 Notably, women make up an estimated 43% of the agricultural workforce, but lack access to and control over critical assets and inputs, and are consistently underrepresented in leadership and decision-making.2 The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit draws attention to the need to transform global food systems so that they work for everyone and ensure safe and nutritious food for all. The urgency of transforming the food system is underlined by the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic increased the number of hungry people in the world by 118 million.3 Small-scale farmers can speak for themselves â yet there are significant intersectional barriers to their participation in decision-making processes. Radio can reach the most remote, rural, and vulnerable communities in sub-Saharan Africa, including places where literacy is low and the internet is either too expensive to access or unreliable. By using the combined power of radio and mobile phones, the voices of small-scale farmers and rural people can make critical contributions to discussions and debates about food systems. People can express what they really need and want in order to improve their livelihoods and quality of life, local solutions can be prioritized, and long-standing inequities in global power relations can be addressed. Learning from the vast knowledge and experience of farmers brings the world one step closer to creating food systems that ensure healthy diets and are equitable, sustainable, and productive for all. As nations, organizations, and individuals, we all must commit to listening and taking action together. Over the course of three weeks in June 2021, and in partnership with IFAD, World Vision Canada, and the Canadian Food Security Policy Group, Farm Radio International collected the perspectives, concerns, and experiences of thousands of small-scale farmers on how to create equitable, sustainable, and productive food systems. We worked with six radio stations in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda to create and amplify compelling discussions around food systems. On air, broadcasters invited local experts, farmers, and other guests to speak their minds and share their knowledge. Off air, we asked listeners to join in with their thoughts by asking them a series of questions and analyzing their responses. Our goal was to bring farmers voices into the global conversation about food systems. Many of these voices represent rural, remote, and vulnerable populations â people who might not otherwise be reached by the Summit, and whose voices would therefore go unheard. Episode one of the On Air Dialogues radio program discussed access to safe and nutritious food for all. When asked about coping mechanisms when food is scarce, the largest percentage of participants said that their family would cope by asking everyone to cut back equally. A somewhat higher percentage of women than men said that those in need should eat first, and that the family should sell assets such as animals. Women aged 30+ were more likely to believe that those most in need should eat first, while women under 30 were much more likely to say that the family should find other ways to make money. We also asked participants what would need to change for everyone in their community to have equal access to safe, healthy, nutritious food all year round. Many participants identified moving away from chemical pesticides and fertilizers as a key priority. Many also placed a significant emphasis on the importance of food hygiene and safety. Next, we asked what participants worry about most when they think about the safety and quality of their family s food. Almost 75% of participants reported feeling troubled about the safety and quality of the food their families eat. Women were somewhat more concerned about nutritionally inadequate diets than men, while men were more likely to believe that their family s food is safe and nutritious. Only 1 in 5 women aged 30+ said that the food their family eats is safe and nutritious. Episode two of the On Air Dialogues focused on equitable livelihoods, including land and land tenure, gender inequality, and the role of youth in the food system. We asked participants what would give them the most success as a farmer. The need for finance emerged strongly. The largest percentage of participants said that loans and credit would give them the most success. Participants over the age of 30, both men and women, were more likely to choose this option, while younger participants, both male and female, more often chose better market access. We also asked about the future of farming for today s children. Only 1 in 9 thought that young people should avoid farming altogether. Almost one-third said that young people would be successful in farming, while another third felt that they would struggle to succeed unless things change â pointing to the need to transform food systems to make successful livelihoods possible. A quarter of participants felt that young people would farm but would need other sources of income. Men under 30 were most pessimistic about the future for young farmers, while women 30+ were the most optimistic, with more than 1 in 3 confident that today s children will succeed. The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit aims to identify solutions that improve livelihoods and food security. Thus, we asked participants to talk about what they would do to make life better for farming families. Many participants said that the lives of farming families would be better if they had access to farming inputs. Others favoured more loans, credit, and general financial support. A number of participants said that farming families lives would improve if markets worked better for them. Finally, many mentioned various types of training and education. These responses underline the need to improve access to the resources, services, and markets that rural people need to improve their lives and livelihoods. Rural livelihoods are affected not only by marginalization and lack of access to resources and markets, but also by shocks of various kinds, including the impact of climate change. Thus, episode three of the On Air Dialogues focused on resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks, and stresses. It included topics such as climate change, instability and conflict, infrastructure, and finance. Over 90% of participants felt there was something they could do in their community to cope with climate change. Less than 1 in 12 said that the only way to cope would be to move to another place. The highest proportion chose protecting the natural environment. Men were more likely than women to think that protecting the natural environment was the best strategy, while women were more likely than men to choose migration. Participants over 30, both men and women, were more likely to think that improved inputs were the best way to deal with the changing climate and less likely to choose migration. Participants were also asked where they would turn for information to help them cope with threats to their family and livelihood. This question allowed participants to identify the threats that were most significant to them, as well as where they would go for information to help them cope with those threats. The largest percentage of participants said they would turn to family, friends, and neighbours. A little more than 1 in 4 chose radio. Women aged 30+ were more likely to turn to family, friends, and neighbours than men, and somewhat less likely to turn to farmers groups or radio. Women under 30 were more likely than women aged 30+ to turn to radio, while men under 30 were more likely to turn to agricultural experts than men over 30. The final question for episode three asked participants to name the biggest threat to their family eating enough safe and nutritious food. The four most common responses were: poor hygiene and sanitation, weather-related threats, agrochemical use, and lack of inputs or poor-quality inputs. Some pointed to poverty itself as a cause â the lack of physical space due to poverty reduces the ability to ensure that cooking equipment and food preparation surfaces are hygienic. Others noted threats related to climate change, including drought, poor rainfall, and the risk of unpredictable weather, especially unpredictable rainfall. (Most farmers in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to irrigation and depend on rainfall to grow their crops.)4 The thousands of people who participated in the On Air Dialogues demonstrated that rural people can articulate what they need to transform their lives, from strategies for coping with climate change to accessing resources and markets. Most see a future in rural areas for the next generation â but say that action to transform food systems and combat rural poverty and marginalization is needed for them to have success as full-time farmers. Their voices are a vital contribution to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.